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// Chapter Five: The Past 
// Story: Revolution: Equestria 
// by The Fields of Ice 
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     “Fluttershy!?” Spike exclaimed.
The yellow Pegasus swiftly looked over to the young dragon and raised her bow. “How do you know my name? Who are you?”
Quickly, Rainbow Dash and Spike threw their hooves and hands up, however Cadence did not. “Fluttershy,” began Dash, “It’s us. Spike and Rainbow Dash.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in complete shock. Hastily, she lowered her bow and put it over her shoulder. “Oh my goddesses! I thought you guys were dead!” she exclaimed as she ran over to the couple.
Cadence mentally snickered at Fluttershy’s choice of words. ‘I think that’s the usual nowadays,’ she thought.
As the yellow Pegasus wrapped her friends into a tight embrace, Spike noticed the twigs and leaves in her, now much shorter, mane. Needless to say, her appearance was similar to that of a homeless mare. 
“Hey Fluttershy,” Spike began, “Where have you been all this time?”
Fluttershy slowly broke the embrace and took a step back. It was odd, but after all of these years of being alone, she honestly didn’t expect that question. 
“Well, where do you want me to start?”
“Right after the blackout,” answered Rainbow Dash.
The yellow Pegasus nodded and let out a sigh. It was obvious that she didn’t want to remember some of the events she was about to portray, but despite this, she did so. 
“Well, right after the blackout things at my cottage got bad. The animals just went crazy. At first I had no idea what was wrong. I thought that maybe something had just upset them. That’s when they started attacking each other. I had no idea what to do. 
I tried calming them down, but it didn’t do much. They just kept fighting. Then this bear I was tending to…” Fluttershy trailed off as she remembered what came next. “It tried to kill me. It started destroying the house and killed countless animals before… I could stop it.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Stop it?”
Fluttershy sighed sadly. “Kill it, I mean.”
Spike and Rainbow Dash made a somewhat surprised expression. Even after what had happened moments ago, the pair was still having a lot of trouble picturing Fluttershy, the element of kindness, killing anything; or at least that early in the blackout that is. However their moment of thought was quickly cut short, for the yellow Pegasus was not yet done speaking. 
“After that I was covered in blood and the cottage was completely destroyed. There was no way I could go into town looking like this. So I ran. I ran as far and as fast as I could. Eventually I found a nice stream in the forest and decided to stay there for a while. But I just never left. I guess I just figured there was nothing left in Ponyville for me; at least not anymore. Hell, maybe I couldn’t face everypony after what I did. I don’t know. Anyways I built a small cottage out here. So if you’d like to rest there that’s fine.”
“But you know what happened to Cloudsdale, and the rest of Equestria right?” Spike asked.
“Of course I do. I’m not that much of a hermit. I found out news from ponies who got lost in the forest. It kind of became my job to guide them back.”
The young dragon blushed slightly out of embarrassment. “Oh.”
“So would you all like to come back to my cottage?”
“No,” Cadence answered. “We need to keep moving. Besides, I very much doubt Spike or Rainbow Dash will be able to sleep anytime soon.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry Fluttershy, but she’s right. We really do need to keep moving.”
“Where are you headed?” the yellow Pegasus inquired. 
“Twilight needs our help in Canterlot.” As soon as those words left Spike’s lips he noticed Cadence glaring at him. He knew he had said too much, but in return the young dragon shot a quick look back. It was as if he were trying to say ‘We can trust her.’
“Very well then. I’ll take you there.”
Cadence quickly took a step towards Fluttershy. “Thank you, but that’s really not necessary. I believe we can handle things just fine.”
The yellow Pegasus shot her a playful look. “Well, if it wasn’t for me I do believe you’d be handling Spike and Dashie’s burial at the moment.”
Cadence returned a not so playful look. “With that said I’d like to thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse us we must be on our way.”
Spike could easily tell that if he didn’t do something, there may very well be a full blown mare on mare brawl on his hands. So, quickly, he rose to his feet and went over to Cadence. Laying a claw on her shoulder, he said “Hey, maybe she could guide us. Besides if we run into trouble, it may be good to have an extra mare with us.”
Cadence resisted the sudden urge to shout at Spike. Instead she gritted her teeth and nodded. “Fine.”
Fluttershy smiled, trying her best to hide the glee of winning the subtle argument, and said “Now, before we go, I need to stop by my hut to get a coat.” She then looked right at Cadence with the same grin. “I hope that’s not too much trouble.”

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Once Fluttershy had stepped into the small cottage, Cadence immediately turned to Spike. Keeping her voice down, she snapped “Spike, we can’t trust her. You must have been stuck in your little gated community for too long, because you don’t seem to understand a damn thing about the outside world. Ponies change, Spike. I mean for the goddesses’ sakes, you heard what she did to her pets.”
The young dragon shook his head. “She had no choice. Trust me I’ve known Fluttershy a lot longer than you. She’s not like that.”
“Are you really willing to bet your life on that, or what about Dash’s life?”
Spike shot her a look. “And what the hell makes you so ready to jump to conclusions about her?”
Cadence turned away briefly. “She has the look.”
“The look? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The Alicorn let out a sigh. “It’s something ponies get when they’ve been through some shit. I have it, Twilight has it, and Fluttershy has it.”
Spike folded his arms. “Then if you have it, why should we trust you?”
“You shouldn’t, but you do because we knew each other.”
Spike smirked and unfolded his arms. “Well there you go.”
Cadence let out a light sigh. “Look all I’m saying is that we should be careful around her. Okay?”
Just then, the yellow colored Pegasus came trotting out of the small cottage. She was wearing what appeared to be bear skin, but no pony could be sure from what animal it came from. She smiled up at the group and asked “Shall we be going now?”
Cadence rolled her eyes at the mare and turned back towards their original heading. Spike saw this and scowled at her yet again, before looking back towards Fluttershy. 
The young dragon smiled and gestured for her to come over to them. “Yes, we’re ready.”
She did as she was instructed, and began to trot along with the rest of the group. Needless to say, much of the walking was in silence. A silence most of them found rather bothersome; all except for Cadence that is.
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After a few hours of walking, the group had begun to spread out along the trail. Cadence found herself in the front, Fluttershy wasn’t far behind her, and Spike and Rainbow Dash were alongside each other in the very back.
As Spike and Rainbow Dash walked, they decided to take this time to have a conversation on what had occurred a few hours ago. The couple also made sure to keep out of earshot from any prying ears up the trail.
“So, what exactly was that earlier?” Spike asked.
Rainbow Dash blushed and looked away; she couldn’t help but regret what had happened. “Nothing, don’t worry about it. I was just caught up in the moment, I guess.”
“No, it wasn’t nothing. I saw the look in your eyes Dash.”
The blue Pegasus hung her head and tried her best not to make eye contact. “Please, can we just forget about it?”
“No Dashie, it’s okay. I mean it’s not like it was a bad thing. Besides, do you want to know something?”
“What?” she asked in a monotone voice, still not making eye contact.
Spike smiled and placed an arm around Rainbow Dash. “I kissed back.”
Those words instantly caused the blue mare’s ears to perk up. ‘What does he mean by that?’ she thought. So, slowly, she lifted up her head to see Spike looking at her with the same expression she had hours ago. 
“Dashie, you have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to say something.”
Rainbow Dash smiled, hoping to the goddesses that she knew what Spike was about to say.  “Then say it,” she said with a cracking voice.
The young dragon smiled and pulled her a little closer. “I love you.”
Suddenly, the blue Pegasus jumped up and nearly tackled Spike with a hug. “I love you too!” she yelped a little louder than she should have. However this didn’t faze either of them for one second. For just as quickly as she had hugged him, Rainbow Dash pressed her lips to Spike’s once again.
Fluttershy and Cadence both looked back at the display of affection and smiled. It reminded Cadence of her past with Shining Armor, before the blackout. However those days were long over and she knew they were never to return. Turning her attention forward once more she let a soft sigh escape her lips.
As the pink Alicorn began to search deeper into her memories of Shining Armor, she noticed a yellow Pegasus trotting up beside her. Quickly, she looked the other way trying her best to avoid the impending conversation. However these efforts failed her regardless. 
“Hey,” began Fluttershy, “I’m sorry about earlier. I just thought we could talk a little or something.”
Suddenly, Cadence snapped back towards the yellow mare. “Okay listen Shy, I may have known you a long time ago, but that was then. Things have changed since then. You’ve changed. I’ve changed. Everypony has changed.”
The yellow mare shrugged. “Then maybe it’s time we get to know each other again.”
“Yeah, well maybe later.” As Cadence finished speaking, she let out a yawn. 
“You sure you’ve had enough sleep last night?”
“Yes, I’m just-“ she was cut off by yet another yawn. 
Fluttershy smiled. “Hey, I may not be too familiar with ponies these days, but I know a tired mare when I see one. Besides, it’s not like it’s getting darker.”
“I’m fine.”
Fluttershy threw out a hoof. “Nonsense.” She then stopped to turn towards Rainbow Dash and Spike. “Hey, do you guys need to rest?” 
Rainbow Dash let out a light yawn and replied “Yeah, I could go for a nap.”
The yellow mare turned back towards Cadence. “Then it’s settled. We’ll rest for a little while.”
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As Fluttershy laid out a small mat she had packed, she could feel Cadence’s eyes burrowing into the back of her head. Ignoring it, she continued to set up her accommodations. 
“Stop it,” Rainbow Dash demanded in a giggling tone.
“Stop what?” Spike replied in a similar manor.
Sighing, Cadence averted her gaze from Fluttershy and looked over towards the new couple. “I swear to the goddesses if I wake up and find you two going at it, you’re both going to get a hoof up your asses. Understood?”
The pair just giggled as they slid around in their sleeping bag. “Whatever you say Queen Chrysalis,” joked Spike. This of course caused Rainbow Dash to giggle some more.
Cadence rolled her eyes and laid down in her own sleeping bag. ‘Dear goddesses, this is going to be a long trip.’